Wow you preferred the float 32's to a deville?!! You've either got the best set of 32's ever produced or there was something seriously wrong with your devilles!

I can see why someone would think like this. My experience of the Deville (and VIPr) is that it is not the typical "plush" suspension of (say) Fox, it is a firm feeling suspension which a rider may not like; especially if they have a firm front and soft rear (or vice versa).

More balance. Have had all the forks mentioned except the Avalanche. By far my favourite is the BOS Deville. Nothing I've used finds grip like it or feels as plush and controlled. I ride a 29er now so had to change but my Devilles survived as the bike went to my best mate. All in all they've been used constantly for 3 years with no maintenance and have never gone wrong!
I like the pikes on my 29er, but when I ride the bike with the Devilles still they have an undefinable damping quality,
I'm still struggling to find the balance between big hit support and plushness on my Pikes, however they are the second best fork alive ever used.

I would love another set of a devilles but I have to confess I'd be reluctant to buy them due to the support/spares., ultimately all forks need servicing. If jungle turn it around, great.

I think the Avalance option is excellent, although it adds weight compared to a stock fork like the Pike. There is a similar package available for Fox from a French company that adds an open bath damper with full LSC/HSC and LSR/HSR.

I'm surprised no-ones asked.. but what's your riding style like? The bike set up seems pretty burly - If you're riding warrants this then all more credit to you (i edge on the side of safety when it comes to parts), but otherwise air back and front - which if you sold both your current ones you could easily do. The fusion Vengeance is meant to be on a par with the pike according to some reviews + proved long term reliability!! And general lightening of the bike. New rubber, a wheel build around your current hubs, the works!

(as an aside, if anyone happens to be selling some 650B devilles.. 160 or 150 please. ingegneremaurizio AT gmail DOT com Grazie! )

I may be wrong but I thought "plushness" is about high speed rebound and high speed compression damping and not "softness" which I would suppose is sag (say 30%) and less compression damping. I've tried my mate's Devilles (set up by J tec) and have some Idyles on my DH bike. I'd say all of them were firm rather than plush. I just don't think Bos do plush.

That's a good point about matching both ends - my SX and Rune never felt totally balanced with an air shock and coil forks, but the Rune with air both ends does feel better. Air suspension is getting better and better, but a coil is still much smoother. The combination of Devilles and a CCDBa has pretty much converted me.

I really do rate the Deville's so far but not enough to think that they're good value at RRP especially if they go pop (no modern fork is). I'm not so fussed about this because whatever forks I'd have bought would be second hand so would need to got to Loco, J Tech etc if broken.

Having been totally blown away by the performance of my Bod Devilles in Morzine last summer I ordered another pair for the front of my Production Privee Shan. The Devilles ironed out all the braking bumps (no arm pump all week!) and managed a run down the Champery Worlds track in relative safety. No issues with either fork yet - the first set are getting on for a year old now.
I'll admit they aren't car park plush but they definately take the fatigue out of a ride better than any fork I've previously owned (36's,Sektors,old Pikes,Mavericks,Bombers).They are more of a race fork than a comfort fork so its down to riding style really.Playing with the tuning dials afects the performance massively too,it took a while before finding the absolute sweet spot

The dictionary definition of plush is luxurious - I take this to mean soft and compliant. If you think how Fox/Marzocchi/RS forks and shocks typically feel in the showroom/car-park this to me is plush. You can almost get all the travel out of them with a quick thrust down; I think this test gives the prospective owner a feeling of confidence that the fork feels good and will ride well.

From my experience this is not a great test of how a fork and shock will feel on the trails. The Bos and Avalanche stuff I have used (and liked) do not respond well to this type of test, they do not give up all the travel due to the compression damping. But on the trails they use all the travel when its required.

I think those that have ridden them will agree that Bos (and Avy) feel different to Fox/etc. Some people will like it (or love it) and others won't; but its good to be aware that it is a little different when shopping. I don't think there is a wrong or a right; people just like different things.

Intersting Waldo, thanks for the info - I had heard that the standard ones can run 650B, but I'm having trouble finding this info on the net again and as I want to run chunky tyres on wiiide rims upfront I'm a bit cautious about it! (might have to start a thread )

thegnarlycenturion - I also noticed that reccomendations were made without anyone asking what my riding style is, i've taken a lot of the comments with a huge pinch of salt (this is singletrackworld after all;))

My usual riding is mainly natural, steep, off-piste trails Guisborough/Hamsterley are my locals. I also ride Ae/Inners/Hamsterley downhill tracks quite frequently. I did have a DH bike but couldn't really justify having multiple bikes, to be honest I think the Nomad works better anyway.

The main reason I have avoided air in the past is I can't be arsed fiddling with pressures all the time, which has been my previous air experience. Tech has moved on a bit now hence looking to switch to air.

I'm a bit disappointed with my Bos Deville's. After all the hype I found I preferred the Fox Float 32's they replaced. Maybe they hold up more on steep stuff and dive less under breaking but they don't have much plushness.

Make sure you follow the BOS instructions to equalize the air chambers otherwise the fork will feel over-damped.